Certificate and Credential

The choice to work with school-age youth is one of the most important career decisions that one can make. A school-age/youth development professional is an extraordinary individual who guides youth to master skills, develop relationships, grow in independence, and move to new levels of thinking and understanding about themselves and the world.

The Michigan School-Age Youth Development Certificate, the Michigan School-Age Youth Development Credential, and the Core Competencies, support quality programs for school-age youth by providing standards for training, education and programming. The Certificate is the first step in recognizing and acknowledging the education, training and experience of school-age/youth development professionals; it is the foundation for the Credential.

Michigan School-Age Youth Development Certificate

Applying for the Michigan School-Age Youth Development Certificate is a commitment to professionalism in the out-of-school time field. Working toward the certificate can be a rewarding experience that offers candidates an opportunity to:

Self-evaluate in relation to the core competencies

Begin professional development through targeted training

Receive acknowledgment for training and experiences working with school-age youth in out-of-school time programs

Michigan School-Age Youth Development Credential

The Michigan School-Age/Youth Development Credential is based on and replaces the Michigan School-Age Credential. A school-age/youth development professional is an extraordinary individual who helps to guide youth to master skills, develop relationships, grow in independence, and move to new levels of thinking and understanding about themselves and the world.